Sweaters are
the big news in
men's casual
wear. They
come in every
color and
combination
imaginable.
Left: Dacron-wool grey
herringbone suit with multi-color
overstripe, $285, from Hunter
Haig.
already bigger."
Most retailers agree that the
single breasted suit will be the
larger seller, although the direc-
tion toward double breasted
suits persists. The traditional suit
model has the familiar two func-
tional buttons and one decora-
tive button, but the style is the
1980 silhouette.
Somber colors dominate the
market led by gray, navy, camel
and black. Dark color mixing,
pattern mixing, browns and
tweeds are highlighted in the
designers' collections. Among
Kosins' favorite color pairings
are browns and blues. Another
popular pairing for fall is
shades of browns and black.
Many top designers are also
showing tweeds worn with pat-
terns for fall. Ralph Lauren, for
example, displays a three peice
tweed suit worn with a tattersall
patterned cotton flannel shirt.
"Gray, from the lightest tone
to charcoal, appears to be
replacing navy as the number
one color for suiting, especially
for the office," says Dan Orman,
manager and buyer of Freed's
in Windsor Ontario. And brown
for business suits and coats
continues its comeback. These
dark colors look particularly
good with this year's accent col-
ors of bronze, greens, and
mauve."
"Lighter weight fine wool
fabrics will be the best sellers
again in men's suiting and
sportscoats," predicts Harry
Solomon of the Argyle Shop in
Birmingham. "The lighter
weights are easier to wear in-
doors and emphasize the focus
on comfort and ease."
Casual wear
Mark Keller of Mark Keller
stores in Birmingham states that
no real new shape or style is
occuring in menswear, but that
the classics are being redefined
and recolored. "The designers
are taking their best styles and
refining them to make them
even better," says Keller. "For in-
stance, award winning American
designer Bill Robinson updates
his sport coats and trousers
from the tweedy look of the 50's
by using beautiful Italian wools
and a dressy silhouette."
Denim still has its place for
the fashionable man. Designers
such as Marithe and Francois
Girbaud have put together
some outstanding blue jean
designs produced in America
with great fabrics from France.
Wool jersey, a popular fabric
in women's colections, is gain-
ing popularity in menswear. It is
used for shirts, slacks and
jackets, achieving a stretchy,
drapey and luxurious effect.
Some say it is an outgrowth of
America's interest in comfortable
active wear, but this year's
designers' collections are
elegant and negate all
memories of the polyester
doubleknit.
Sweaters are the big news in
men's casual wear. They come
in every color and combination
of colors imaginable. Active
animal motifs in the foreground
are the trademark for several
designers known for their ex-
clusive hand knits.
The turtleneck continues to
be the important shape in a
revised edition. Mock turtle-
necks, slouchy cowl necks and
high crew necks are the most
popular. Predictably, more men
will be using the mock turtle-
neck with suits or under a
sports coat.
Favorite sweater designers in-
clude Valentino, Armani, Basile
and Fabriano. "Paul Costello's
big, crunch Irish wool and
tweed sweaters are also doing
well," says Keller.
Men are finding it easy to
coordinate sweaters with the
rest of their wardrobe. Cotton is
used more frequently as the
sweater fabric this year,
although wool, cashmere,
acrylic or a combination of
these can be found in the
FALL '87 105